The perfect blend of hot and cold.

Like a perfectly made Old Fashioned, pasta puttanesca relies on simple ingredients properly prepared. This is the high point of our weeknight summer dining on the farm.

Ingredients:

• A couple of very ripe tomatoes (preferably just picked)
• 4-8 cloves of garlic
• 15-25 leaves of basil
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Pasta: either shell, bowtie, or penne

Steps:

• All in the same bowl: chop the tomatoes, chop your garlic, shred the basil, add coarse salt, then grind your pepper until your arm grows tired. Add about half-a-cup olive oil, gently mix. Stick the bowl into the fridge for two hours.
• Boil the pasta, drain, put in the serving bowl. Pour the cold ingredients over the hot pasta and toss.

Eat at once. Giuliano Bugialli admonishes you to not add cheese. I agree. Enjoy. I suggest a glass or two of red wine to wash it down.

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Reading tonight: The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (G. Bugialli)